5.14.2008
Covering the God(s) Beat
Reporter Tim Townsend writes about covering the religion beat for the Columbia Journalism Review, and in the process looks at two very different religious impulses that were part of the founding of this country.
"Of course, the spiritually polarized America we live in today is not new. Intolerance might as well have been the motto of the Puritans, separatists who crossed the Atlantic in 1630, fleeing religious persecution ... thanks in part to James Madison and his Bill of Rights, the Puritan vision of America as a rigidly intolerant society didn't come to pass. The First Amendment ensured that the government could make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion, and America's protection of pluralism remains one of its most beautiful features. But beauty has been the root of some brutal fights, and theological skirmishes in twenty-first-century America are shaping up to be doozies."
In negotiating the troubled waters of faith in America, Townsend has two simple rules.
"Reporters who cover the fractured, volatile, weighty world of religion have a responsibility to be equally respectful of all beliefs. Whether someone is a Roman Catholic, a Jew, or a Raelian, we are privileged to ask such people personal questions about their most profound thoughts and hopes ... But again, journalists who cover religion also need to weigh that broad respect for belief against a larger truth. If a particular tenet of a particular faith has the potential to influence the public discourse outside the walls of the church, synagogue, or mosque, reporters are responsible for holding it up to the same scrutiny as any other idea tossed into the public square for debate."
I agree that respect and scrutiny must go hand in hand. Without that balance you can slip into sensationalism, or fall prey to uncritical admiration. For years now I have been monitoring how the press covers modern Pagan faiths, and while there have been some remarkable improvements in the last five years, the mainstream religious press has a long way to go.
Many journalists, including some rather prominent ones, still believe that an article on Paganism must be "balanced" by an anti-Pagan Christian, any anti-Pagan Christian, even if that opposition gives no insight or context to the story at hand. Journalistic balance is avoiding editorial bias, not seeking out idealogical opponents to give you a pull-quote. Also, you'll still see articles that dip into the sensationalist well. Finding the most "out-there" characters possible, or conflating Pagan religion with unsavory ideologies or people.
As modern Paganism continues to be a part of major news stories, the need to balance scrutiny with respect will become more and more important. One can only hope that more journalists take cues from people like Townsend, or possibly Peter Manseau, who urges reporters to "role-play" and "use their imaginations" when encountering a new religion or strange situation.
"Before I write about any sort of believer or community of faith, I indulge in a little role-playing fantasy. What might it feel like to have such fervor that I find myself speaking in tongues? Who would I be if I was a pagan among Christians in the Bible Belt? What would I be thinking if it were me riding high in a chair at a Hasidic wedding, floating on a sea of black hats? In place of belief I call upon that skill we all had as children but often lose by the time we become adults, or parents, or popes: "make believe."...If only we could cease praying to our conceptions of God just long enough to wonder what it might be like to pray to another. Just imagine."
If modern Pagan faiths are treated with respect, and given the benefit of the doubt by skeptical reporters, they may find that were actually quite normal once you get to know us (albeit, different from the dominant monotheisms). Deserving of the same rights and privileges as the more "mainstream" faiths in America, and a vital part of any overview of the religious spectrum in America.
Labels: journalism, Paganism, Religion, Tim Townsend
Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
